One of my personal challenges this year is to stop just throwing out products that I try and can't use. It easy to just move on and take the financial loss, but much harder to live with the financial loss.

A few weeks ago, I received a free sample of a Dove facial cleanser. I liked it. It went on sale, I had a coupon...but the store didn't have it in stock. They did have a similar Dove product on sale, and that my coupon worked for, so I purchased it. But, when I used the cleansing pillow, it scratched my skin, and I promptly broke out in a rash.

I put it aside for a few days. But, I do have this commitment, and this blog to keep me committed (or to have me committed?). So, I emailed Dove about the problem.

Even I don't know everything that goes on in the marketplace. Turns out that Dove had a major recall of one of it's facial cleansers a few months ago. Completely unrelated, but...

I received via overnight express:

1. post-paid mailing address to return the product

2. full refund of the retail price, even though I had noted I used coupons and sales

3. four coupons for free full sized Dove products, retail over $20

4. a self-addressed envelope to send a note from my doctor in, should I wish any medical costs be reimbursed.

Hmmmm...

so I emailed P&G about the expired coupon they sent me. HOW RUDE OF THEM! They responded that it was in fact supposed to be a coupon for a free product, and they would send not only that free product coupon, but additional ones.

Piping up is paying off!

I won't add the $ to the challenge; I will be donating the coupons to the coupon trains.

I will be renewing my commit to contact the manufacturers when things don't work out. I don't plan to continue to MAKE money this way, but I don't plan on wasting as much, either.

We've all seen the free Nexxus samples from Walmart.

There is a separate kit, two trial size bottles, available from the Nexxus site. Even if you have received the WalMart samples, you are probably eligible to receive The Sampling Kit from Nexxus!

the link to the samples, from the Nexxus home site, is at

My deal of the day.

I love SCJ. I received a sample of their new Windex microfiber cloths, and they are fantastic on glass. I used the coupon/sale, bought a box, and ran right through them. Hmmm...

In the newsletter they just sent, SCJ claims the cloths are reuseable. Hmmm...so I emailed to ask. Are they?

Yes! Just rinse, let dry, and use again!

Cool.

Just for contacting them, they are sending a coupon for a free box. I didn't ask for the coupon, but SCJ frequently provides free product coupons in response to any customer query. I know they will follow up with a survey by mail on the support I received for my question. Assuming the coupon arrives, they will get a big thumbs up.

Proctor and Gamble, on the other hand...I had a reaction to one of their products. I was sent an expired, 25 cent coupon, for Ivory soap to wash off the skin. Boo. But, they put out their own coupon inserts, and receive THOUSANDS of requests for coupons every day. Unless you have a SERIOUS problem, they prefer you not contact them, and they certainly are NOT going to encourage you to do so.

It has been quite a week. I've just sent out another 10 welcome packets with free coupons to our two new trains. Now to get the trains going.

I've received several "requests", or rather DEMANDS, to join trains this week. Two actually thought the coupon trains were simply a package of free grocery coupons that go around. Wait. That IS what it is.

Except that you have to have coupons to replace the ones that you take out.

Flash is NOT a freebie!

I am a hopefully nice person with many coupons, who knows how to get coupons easily. Not printables, but good solid manufacturers coupons. Coupons for free products. Rebates for free products. Coupons for significant savings on your groceries. Refunds.

Coupons are just fertilizer for the budget, though. They aren't magic beans that grow savings while you aren't looking. Significant savings, consistently reaching 50-100% off your grocery bill, requires getting coupons, teaming them with sales and rebates, and stockpiling the great deals so you don't waste money down the road, after the sale or coupon has expired.

We have a site to teach you how to do this. Step by step.

www.GroceryCouponGuide.com


This is where the details on HOW and WHERE to get coupons, how to maximize your savings, how this whole system WORKS is located.

Me, I'm just a person. I just sent out 10 envelopes of coupons, at $10.77 of my money, to start two more trains. I'll be sending out the trains next week. I am HOPING that they are of great benefit to those that receive and use them.

I'm also hoping that everyone will use the grocerycouponguide.com site, and learn how to get great coupons specific to their needs for themselves.

My goal is not to feed you coupons for a day, but to teach you to fish for your own, and save for a lifetime.

So, join a train. But also use all the other techniques we are teaching you on the site. Otherwise, I'm just wasting web space.

Have you ever contacted a company, only to find that they claimed they didn't sell the product you were complaining about?

In all the merging and licensing, brands have gotten a bit confused!

For example, www.pillsbury.com is part of the Betty Crocker family, and includes offers for Pillsbury refrigerated and frozen products. Call to ask about their flour or baked goods, they will tell you it's not their product. No further advice given...Pillsbury Baking is a major competitor!

www.pillsburybaking.com is owned by J.M. Smuckers! They have their own site, their own newsletter, and their own offers.

Similarly, while Plaxtex continues to manufacturer personal and baby products, Plaxtex BRAS, including that 18 hour bra, is owned by...Sara Lee! As is WonderBra. (If the pound cake doesn't put the pounds on, the bra will?)

This creates a challenge in contacting manufacturers for compliments, complaints, requesting assistance, or even getting signed up for the right newsletter and offers!

To help out, we've compiled a list of major manufacturers, along with their brands, newsletters, and the contact pages for the main manufacturer as well as the individual brands. While Jeffrey is still compiling information into the site, the basics are up, and more are getting added regularly!

Thanks for all the tips. No offense from the laughter...if you could have seen my DH's face when I came out of the bath in stripes

I'd have thought GoJo would take anything off. We use it mucking out stables. Nope, don't have a horse farm, but I'm on the board of directors for a non-profit giving counseling to abused kids, and they spend quite a bit of time with the horses, equine therapy. I don't mind mucking stalls for a good cause!

I'm now gray and pink...Calamine lotion. Poison oak, ivy, AND sumac.

I do this every year. We have wild strawberry vines as a ground cover in our wild back frontier, and it is lovely every spring as it spreads its way out. So I am thrilled to see it spreading even more, in new places, and I nuture it and trim it...and realize it IS NOT wild strawberry.

The savings lesson for the day...be careful before you grab up those great offers that seem too good to be true. Like my magically spreading wild strawberries, they may not be what they seem!

when I was twenty, my Mother challenged me to modify her base ice cream recipe to be a "Foster Freeze" like soft serve.

While this isn't the healthiest recipe, it's quite tasty, and very versatile. You can substitute almost anything in this recipe with something else...Equal for sugar, evap non fat milk for half and half, leave out the eggs and cream, add fresh fruit, or even stale cookies that need to be used! Perfect for using up stockpiles

So, here is the original recipe. It's for the large ice cream maker, but can be resized as needed.

3 eggs, beaten
3 1/4 c sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 pint whipped cream
1 pint half and half
fill the container with whole milk and freeze.

Me.

As part of our gardening odyssey of savings, DH upgraded our mulch to a high quality. Hmm...very dark. Mulch is usually very dark in a wet pile, but fades out once it dries in the sun. So...I didn't think too much about it...

SLATHERED myself in sun screen. Red headed, fair skinned me.

Turns out, DH paid extra to buy the permanently dyed mulch...black...and it is quite stunning. It resists fading, so keeps that beautiful freshly laid look year round. So they say.

And it was still such a huge savings!!! I'm thrilled!!!

Except...I wore sandals for part of the day. Didn't really look at the bottoms of my feet when I showered yesterday. Knees were a bit dark. But today...knees are BLACK. Feet are BLACK. It won't scrub off. It won't PUMICE off!

That's when DH tells me he bought PERMANENTLY DYED black mulch...and yep, it's PERMANENTLY on me. With the sunburn, the black feet, and the white lines of where the sun stopped and my shirt and shorts were...well, I'm quite a sight!

So, a tiny extra expensive from this garden savings. And I really do hate to say this, it goes against everything...but if we saved $4500 on gardening, I am going to spend $20 and get some nice bath gel to SOAK this stuff off in!

AH.

This is, of course, the downfall of any savings plan. Saving money and considering the savings as something to be spent elsewhere. NEVER EVER EVER allow yourself to do this. Saving is the reward!

Unless you have permanently dyed black knees and feet.

I was disappointed when Yves Rocher became popular enough that eBates dropped their cash back from 15% to 8%. Still, Yves Rocher is having a 50% off the site sale, with an extra 10% off using the code

10YRNEW

And, a free tote or sample package, free shipping, a free bathroom set, and free samples. Plus the 8% back, plus the credit card rebate. So, not bad...after a day digging and laying down BLACK mulch, I am looking forward to a delivery of some nice botanical bath products!

Well, as you can see from my last post, we got through the murder, and life returned to normal, so back to coupons!

The murder, well, teenage road rage, just happened to be at the court house, mid day, with dozens of people and police officers around...one of the kids pulled a knife, and then they ran. Not unusual for city life, but for the sleepy little down with one Main Street, the first murder in 20 years. And having police and news helicopters hovering for hours while every thing was roped off certainly shut the town down for awhile.

Yesterday and today we have continued on the mulch. DH decided (after years of my encouragement) that we should put landscape fabric down in areas without ground cover. Added to the work, looks great. But, it's 91F outside, and we are taking a break. Still lots to do.

Doing some additional trimming and things we have hired out in the past. I'm not afraid to hang atop a 3 story ladder, as long as DH is holding it. And, he's much stronger this year, and can dig out a trench or haul loads much easier.

So, our gardening savings this year, compared to paying for the same (not as good!) work the past three years, is now...

$4500.

Unbelieveable to me, but we never added up ALL the different spring time costs before. Occasionally we've done a small piece of it before, but since we initially did the back breaking work of landscaping, maintenance has been shared with many people with deep pockets. And, since they don't CARE about the quality of work as much as WE do, since we live with it all year, we are doing a careful and better job, especially in areas we know are problem areas.


Ah...if I had a savings category for gardening, this would go into it

Finishing it continues to be our weekly challenge.

Blinkies/Coupon Machines

$1 on two Kraft Slices, exp. 6/26/06
$1 on two Vlasic, any size, exp. 7/1/06

$1 on any two 6 packs Hansen’s Soda, exp. 8/31/06
55 cents off one ATHENOS Hummus, exp. 7/31/06
55 cents off one ATHENOS or Digiorno Cheese, exp. 7/31/06
$1 on 3 GM cereals (new date – exp. 7/17/06)
$1 on Breyers Fruit Bars, exp. 7/31/06

$1 any 4 Beechnut Table Time, exp. 9/30/06
$1 on 8 Gerber Tender Harvest, exp. 9/30/06
$2 ANY Huggies product, exp. 6/30/06
$1 any Huggies Diapers, exp. 7/29/06
50 cents any Huggies Baby Wipes, exp. 8/31/06 (problem with machine, so the store gave me a stack, inch thick!)

50 cents one Chinet, exp. 6/26/06
50 cent 2 1-big Roll or any one larger Sparkle Paper Towel, exp. 7/16/06

$1 Oralb toothbrush, exp. 7/18/06
$1 Oral B power toothbrush, exp. 7/18/06

Reynold’s Easy Grilling Booklet
$ 1 on 2 Reynolds foil, exp. 12.31.06
55 cents Mann’s Fresh Cut Vegetables, exp. 9.30.06
75 cents Cattlemen’s exp. 12/31/06
75 cents on 1 Reynolds Foil, exp. 12/31/06

Fold Out Machines
$1 Huggies diapers, exp. 7/29/06

Tear Pads
$1.50 any two Tylenol, St. Joesph, Pepcid, Mylanta, Mylicon, exp. 6/30/2006

Peelies
Feline Pine, Buy 2, $3 mail in rebate, no expiration
$5 off admission to Seaworld, on Synder’s pretzels

Loose leaf/promos
$2 Advil PM, any size, ex. 11/30/06…
….same form, submit POP of above by mail, receive free Advil PM 20 ct., exp. 8/31/06
50 cents any package Aidells hand-crafted sausage. Exp. 08/31/06
55 cents one Famous Amos Cookies, exp. 09/01/06
free movie ticket (up to $12) with purchase two Sunny D, by mail, exp. 8.31.06
$1 Cardini’s Salad Dressing, exp. 12.31.06

Tried to go shopping today, but there was a murder at our courthouse, and I was stuck in traffic for an hour. Maybe tomorrow.

Blinkies/coupon Machines
$1 on any two 6 packs Hansen’s Soda, exp. 8/31/06
55 cents on one any size News Nesquik Milkshake or milk, exp. 6/24/06
$2 on any Huggies diapers, Pullups, Goodnites, bath & body, Swimmers, or baby wipes, exp. 6/30/06
50 cents any one Huggies baby Wipes, exp. 8/31/06
$2 any Tylenol PM 50 ct., 8 oz., or larger, exp. 8/31/06
$1 on 8 Tender Harbest Baby Foods, exp. 9/30/06

Tear Pad
Buy one Kingsford 18/17 lb, or Match Light 13.5 lb charcoal, get FREE one KC Masterpiece 18 oz. BBQ or 16 oz. Marinade

Of course, a full page of all current offers too!

http://olay.com/newsandsamples/samples.htm

Tonight, DH wanted Thai, and chicken strips. Why? Not a clue...but he's mulching in the rain.

So, fried up a bag of chicken strips from the freezer, half will go into a different meal. Sliced up more of the bulk mushrooms, sauteed with asparagus tips that were, well, aging, and another bag of shredded carrots from earlier in the week. Added the remnants of a bottle of teriyaki sauce, some seasoning, a bit of water and orange peel. Will serve with a side of Lipton Thai noodles. Something that I always have too much of, since it's always "on sale" and always have coupons, so always free...so time to use some of it.

Pup got into the garbage and was eating raw asparagus ends...ugh...he really doesn't under he's a dog yet.

Tonight will be h